Ironing board



sept.' 9, 1941. B. L. LAURSEN IRONING BOARD Filed June 14, 1939 Patented Sept. 9, 1941 orgies IRONING,BOARDV Bruno Lauris Laursen, Dunedin, Fla. Application June 14, 1939, Serial No. 279,136'V Q aolams. 'l :(01. as me) This invention relates to an ironing board and more'especially to an ironing board which may be attached to an upright wall and readily fold# ed down into an operative, horizontal position for use.

An object of the invention is to provide a compact ironing board assembly which may be easily attached quickly toV any available verticalsurface by means of a few screws and does not require a cabinetv to house it.

A further object is to provide a frame member which projects from the wall only a slight amount with an elongated opening and a front panel adapted to cover the opening, the Vrear surface and edges of the panel being arranged for the attachment of an ironing pad thereto. The attachment of the pad is so arranged that it is entirely concealed when the panel is in closed position so that the assembly presents a neat appearance and its purpose is not ap-yl parent.V

In further pursuance of the last mentionedobject, the front panel is provided with avvertical groove intowhich a supporting leg may be folded, the leg serving to `retain the panel in its vertical, closed position and also in its horizontal position when it is lowered into position Vfor ironing.

Another object is to support the front panel and the folding leg for pivotal movement on hinges `so arranged and secured in position that substantially no strain is placed on the 'screws or bolts used to attach the hinges.

Further objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds. For a better understanding of the invention, however, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of an ironing board assembly embodying the invention showing the panel and its supporting leg in closed position,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1 taken on the line 2-2,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section View of the assembly shown in Fig. 1 taken on the line 3-3 and,

Fig. 4 is a sectional View corresponding to the upper portion of Fig. 3 showing portions thereof on an enlarged scale.

The embodiment of the invention shown comprises a main supporting frame I which may be as thin as inch thick and made of 5 ply wood or solid wood. Frame I may be secured to a vertical, permanent member of a building structure, such as a wall 2, by suitable securing means panel 8 are tapered inwardly and lesser number may be used in some cases. France I is provided with an elongated central opening Whose Vertical sides 5, 6 are vstraight and whose top is curved as indicated at 1Fig. `1. A closure panelg, which is` adapted to serve as an ironing board when lowered into a Ahorizontal position, is arranged to conceal the opening 4, the length and width of member 8 being greater than 'the corresponding dimensions of opening'li. Closure member 8 is supported for pivotal movement at its vlower end by the spaced hingesi,` the .sta-

tionary hinge portions Ill being secured in positions on'franle I vas by screws Il', one vonly beingv shown. Near its lower end, closure panell is' notched .vertically .as indicated at l2 to fit over thelupper endY I 3- lof each of the hinge'sS (see Fig; 3.), andthe' movable blade I5 of each, hinge is secured to the-rear' facev of panelk 8, which has been notched out to receive it, as by the screws I4,'"one only being shown. From the construction Vdescribed it -is apparent that the hingefsecuring screws II andi I4 are not visible' from the front ofv panel I wand thatthe weight of panel 8 is taken up directly by the movable hinge blade iI5 and not by the screws I4.'-

The'rear surface I8 of panel vv.8 is spaced from the wall 2 by an amount ysufficient toaccom# modateran ironing pad I'I which 'may be secured4 in place by Vany suitable. means. In the embodiment shown, the side walls I8I andU IS of the sides of pad Il secured to thesewallsas by tacks 28 or other securing means.. The upper end of p aiie'l 8 maybe undei'cut'als' shown at 2l, Fig. 4,3 'and the upper end of pad I 1 turned down over the' end of panel 8 and secured to the undercut porsuchas the screws 3,four screwsbeing shown but a tion lby one or more tacks 22. By reason of the arrangement of hinges 9 it will be seen that the center of gravity of panel 8 is substantially in a vertical plane passing through the pintles 23 of hinges 9. By reason of the free end of panel 8 being tapered, childrens garments may be easily drawn over it to be ironed. It will be seen that a portion of panel 8 projects within the opening 4 of the supporting frame I thereby economizing in the space taken up by the device.

For the purpose of retaining the panel 8 in its vertical closed position and also for supporting it in a horizontal position when it is lowered, I provide a supporting leg 24 which is attached to panel 8 by the upper and lower hinge blades 25 and 26, blade 26 being secured to panel 8, as by the securing screws 2I, while bolts 28 secure blade 25 to the leg 24. The end of leg 24 may be notched out as indicated at 29 to rest upon the hinge, whereby the longitudinal thrust is transmitted directly to the hinge and substantially no strain is put on the bolts 28. Panel B is provided with a groove 30 in which the leg 24 fits easily but snugly so that the outer surface of leg 24 is flush with the front side of panel 8, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The upper end of leg 24 has secured thereto, as by one or more screws 3l, a metallic catch plate 32 which is adapted to be engaged by a movable elbow catch 33 pivotally mounted at 34 on a supportingr base 35, a suitable compression spring 36 urging catch 33 into plate engaging position. The base 35 of catch 33 is substantially rectangular as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. l, and is set into the rear of frame I which is morticed out to receive it as indicated at 3'I in Fig. 4:. The morticed portion 3'I is extended through to the front of frame I in the region indicated at 38 to provide suitable clearance space for operation of catch 33. If desired the upper end of -plate 32 may be arranged somewhat below the level of the upper end of the leg 24, as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the leg 24 rests upon the oor to support closure panel 8 in a horizontal position for ironing, the plate 32 will not touch the surface of the floor to mar it. c

It will be seen that theassemblage described is very compact and neat in appearance when not in use and its function is not disclosed by its appearance.

When it is desired to iron on it, catch 33 is raised and the panel 8 lowered on its hinges 9 into a horizontal position. For persons of average height, the frame I is secured to the wall, partition or other vertical member of the building at such a height that the'supporting leg `24 is inclined at an angle'to the panel 8 substantially as shown in the dashline position, Fig. 3, and the end of the leg rests on the oor an-d against the wall baseboard. In this inclined position the leg 24 forms a rm supportV for panel 8 and its ironing pad I'I and will not be disturbed if the operator should accidentally strike it with his foot. For a person'above the average height, frame I may -be secured at a higherposition on the wall and vsupporting leg 24adjusted` into a vertical position under panel 8 when the latter is horizontal. The lower end of panel 8- may be beveled as shown at 39 so that its upper en-d may be lowered into contact with the floor without causing an undue strain on hinges 9 such as would be the case if the entire force due to supporting ythe panel in a horizontal positioncame on the hinges.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a substantially solid frame adapted to be mounted in a vertical position, said frame being provided with an elongated opening extending from -its front to its rear faces, a closure panel adapted to engage the front surface of said frame around the margin of said opening whereby the opening is entirely concealed by the closure panel, one or more hinges arranged to pivotally connect the lower end of said closure panel to the frame, a hinge secured to the closure panel intermediate the ends thereof, said closure panel being provided with a centrally disposed groove extending from the region of said hinge to the upper marginal edge of the panel, and a supporting leg secured to said hinge and arranged to fold into said groove with the front surface of the leg disposed substantially in the plane of the front surface of the closure panel.

2. In a device of the class described, ythe combination of a substantially solid frame adapted to be mounted in a vertical position on a wall, said frame being provided with an elongated opening extending from its front to its rear faces, a closure panel adapted to engage the front surface of said frame around the margin of said opening, one or more hinges arranged to pivotally connect the lower end of said closure panel to the frame in its closed position, a supporting leg having its lower end pivotally connected to said closure panel and a movable catch mounted on said frame and arranged to engage the upper end of said supporting leg to thereby retain the closure panel in position to conceal the opening in the frame. v

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which the rear .wall of said frame is provided with a recess and in which the movable catch is seated in said recess and protrudes beyond the front wall of said frame.

. 4. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which a metallic plate is secured to the rear wall of the supporting'leg at the upper end thereof in position to be engaged by said catch.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 2, in which a rigid plate is secured to the rear 'surface of the supporting leg in position to-be engaged by said catch. the upper end of the plate' beingflocated somewhat below the end of the supporting leg.

- BRUNO vLAURIS LAURSEN. 

